"Are you feeling better now?" She asked, leaning over him.
Her blonde hair tickled his chest. "Fine," Dr Stein answered. But he felt more than fine. His head felt strangely light... clearer, really, than it had been in some time. He frowned, searching for the source of the clarity in his mind, and reached up to twist the head of the screw above his ear. Nope, still there.
He caught Marie watching him curiously and he blinked, realizing he had forgotten she was still there. "I'm sorry," he said. "You didn't need to watch over me for so long."
She slid back into her chair and folded her hands into her lap. "Lord Death wants to meet with us in a few days, when you're steady on your feet. It's not a terrible rush, so you can get better at your own pace."
"Oh?" He asked, peering at her. His glasses were being repaired and without them everything beyond Marie's face was blurry. "Do you have any idea what about?"
"Yes." She smiled. "I'm going to remain your weapon, Stein. It's imperative that we stay close together from now on. With your soul detection ability, you can protect us from further sabotage in the future, and I can defend you against the Kishin."
Dr. Stein could see the sense behind her words. They really were ideal partners. If he had been there, he could have stopped Chrona's treachery in time, and Marie's calming wavelength worked wonders on soothing the mad rush of insanity after Medusa raised the Kishin.
Medusa...
He sat up so fast that half the blankets came up with him. He winced as the scarred skin beneath the bandages on his chest contracted and tore at his stitches. Marie was on her feet, her hand hovering above her shoulder as if she might like to push him back down but didn't quite dare. "What is it?" She asked, alarmed. "What's wrong?"
"Medusa." He turned to stare at Marie. "I can't feel the madness that normally radiates from her."
She blinked in surprise. "You can tell the difference? And so far away?"
"Hers is a particular kind of madness," he said, brushing that aside. "What I mean is, did something happen to her? Did we find out where she was hiding?"
Marie slowly sank down beside him on the bed. "Yes," she said, "we did find her, but she was dead. Killed, we think, by the Demon Sword, Ragnarok." Her smile faltered. "Chrona."
"So that's what it was," Stein said softly. No wonder he felt so light; the insanity from the witch Medusa that usually pressed down on his mind was gone. He closed his eyes and took an experimental deep breath. Now only the madness from the Kishin remained, but that was much more bearable.
He opened his eyes to see Marie smiling gently at him. "I'm glad," she said. "I'm so glad."
Stein's eyes narrowed. He had always wondered how much she knew. When she walked in on him, all those times, and he was sitting by himself in the dark, talking to the air, Marie always got a worried, sad look on her face. When he woke her up in the middle of the night with hysterical, sudden laughter, she silently made tea and handed him a beaker full, a frown on her pinched face. When she found the broken mirror in the bathroom, she treated his punctured hand against his protestations, her tear-filled eyes very grave.
Perhaps he should have given her more credit.
Stein gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry," he said. "This... time has been hard for you."
Her cheeks blossomed pink in response to his smile, and she surprised him by laughing. "Hard?" She echoed. "Well, yes, but... I've loved every moment with you."
He stared at her for a few moments. "You're joking," he concluded.
She shrugged. "Well, some parts weren't so fun. But when I was with you, it didn't matter. I like being your weapon partner, you see?"
"Why?" He asked blankly.
Her smile wilted slightly. "Oh Franken," she sighed, her eyes flickering down to her hands and back up to her face.
Stein blinked and his face suddenly changed. He looked surprised, amazed, and-an emotion Marie would never have attributed to Stein-hope.
He blinked again and it was gone. He looked expressionless as he turned away to gaze at the far wall. "But you remember what Spirit said: I'm incapable of love. It's true, Marie. I have no love inside me-not the love you want. Things would be easier for you if you decided to pursue a different man. I only care for experiments, not for the delicate feelings of-" He paused. "You," he finished, his voice a degree softer than before.
Marie's smile slowly widened. "Don't be silly," she murmured. She reached out, almost tentatively, and brushed her thumb against his cheek. Stein's head whipped around and she giggled at the look on his face. "You can tell me to stop, if you want," she said, tenderly tracing the long scar that ran across his straight nose and down his jaw.
Suddenly she realized what she was doing and, coloring self-consciously, withdrew. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I've just really wanted to-sorry," she mumbled.
Stein's hand enclosed her-gently, as he might while carefully transporting a sparrow meant for testing-and brought it back to rest against his ashen cheek. "Don't be," he said, giving her a small smile that brought an answering blush to her cheeks.